The Broncos and Steelers are both sitting at 4-2, but Colin Cowherd sees something more than simple luck behind those matching records.
Denver has done it with Bo Nix not yet looking like the player who led the team to the AFC Championship before his injury last year. Pittsburgh, meanwhile, has opened the season the same way with Aaron Rodgers at quarterback. The split, Cowherd argued on Wednesday, comes down to who each team has had to deal with so far.
Per ESPN, Denver’s strength of schedule entering Week 7 is .571. Pittsburgh’s is .457. Cowherd didn’t buy that as coincidence.
“I think the NFL has been very intentional with its schedule. I think that’s right.
I think there are times, I mean, Sean Payton got the biggest, roughest six-game stretch. It was almost like they were punishing him for sometimes being outspoken,” Payton said, per Steelers Depot.
“Whereas the Steelers, it’s like, ‘Aaron’s old. They may not be great.
Let’s get him some early wins. Let’s make it a little easier.’”
For now, the broader picture still has to settle itself out. Cowherd’s Fox Sports colleague Kevin Wildes is already buying into Rodgers and the Steelers, though, and there’s real on-field production behind that belief.
Rodgers has helped completely reshape Pittsburgh’s offense in partnership with new Steelers head coach Mike McCarthy, who won a Super Bowl with him in Green Bay. Rodgers is tied for the second-most passing touchdowns in the NFL with 12.
The defense is starting to follow suit, too. Jalen Ramsey earned AFC Defensive Player of the Week honors after Sunday’s game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Maybe the cleanest answer will come later, if Denver and Pittsburgh meet in the playoffs.
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